The use of accurate position information of a mobile platform, such as cellular or other wireless communication devices, is becoming prevalent in the communications industry. The satellite positioning system (SPS), such as the Global Positioning System, offers an approach to providing wireless mobile platform position determination. A SPS user can derive precise navigation information including three-dimensional position, velocity and time of day through information gained from satellite vehicles (SVs) in orbit around the earth. The signals that are received from the SVs are typically weak. Therefore, in order to determine the position of a mobile platform, the SPS receiver must be sufficiently sensitive to receive these weak signals and interpret the information represented by them.
One limitation of current SPS receivers is that their operation is limited to situations in which multiple satellites are clearly in view, without obstructions, and where a good quality antenna is properly positioned to receive such signals. As such, they normally are unusable in areas with blockage conditions, such as where there is significant foliage or buildings or other obstacles (e.g., urban canyons) and within buildings.
Visual beacons (VB), such as Quick Response (QR) codes or similar, or 1D or 2D bar codes, are becoming prevalent and are increasingly available in various forms—printed as a coupon, put on merchandise, or mounted on physical structures, such as walls or windows. Accordingly, VBs, such as QR codes, that are affixed to physical structures may be used to assist in positioning as the VB is stationary and can be associated to a specific location, which may be particularly advantageous when indoors or in environments where other positioning methods are less effective. However, there is presently no method of uniquely identifying QR codes or other VBs, which may result in ambiguity in position determination based on VBs. Thus, a mechanism for unique identifier generation for QR codes is desirable to assist in the use of QR codes for positioning.